Chinese President Xi Jinping visits Alaska, talks seafood

Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Anchorage, Alaska, United States late last week and the state’s seafood was a topic of conversation.

Governor Bill Walker, Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute Executive Director Alexa Tonkovich and state officials discussed the state’s top export to China – seafood – and Alaskan seafood was served during a private dinner.

“Members of Alaska's seafood industry are hopeful the meeting will lead to increased resource exports, including Alaska seafood, to the state's most substantial export market,” ASMI said in an article announcing the event.

Alaska exported USD 1.2 billion (EUR 1.12 billion) worth of goods to China in 2016. Japan and South Korea are the state’s second-largest export markets. Fish, including halibut, salmon and pollock, accounts for 58 percent of the state’s total exports to China.

"Wild, sustainable, healthy, clean – those type of attributes that you can put on Alaska seafood are becoming much more desirable for the Chinese consumer, and we're seeing, year after year, more Alaska seafood products actually staying in China for Chinese consumption," Jeremy Woodrow, spokesman for ASMI, said in an ABC News article.

"I would say that any trade that we can boost in the fishery with any particular county, China would be one that would be huge,” added Jerry McCune, president of the United Fishermen of Alaska.